I listen to somebody like Shawn Lane, and unfortunately he is no longer with us, but I hear him playing and I am like, 'That is just absolutely ridiculous.'
I became a professional musician and played all kinds of music. I played bluegrass, I played classical music, and for many years, I played jazz.
I was in a band in high school and college and I always had a love for music, but I didn't go to a conservatory or anything like that. I was fairly self-taught.
I've never been much of a guitarist. I mean, I've played forever, but I was always more of a rhythm kind of guy. I don't read music.
When I was a kid I never learned to play. I actually got in bands through watching people play and copying them.
One thing I've noticed over the years is that young players - I mean 10- and 12-year-olds - really like my guitar style. There's something in my guitar style that they totally can latch onto and learn quickly, and then go from there to your Yngwie Malmsteens or your Steve Vais or whatever.
I play, like, 12 instruments. Guitar, piano, harmonica, African drums... I'm working on mastering the accordion.
When I want to play music, you've got to get me on tape or else it goes.
You go with what you 'get,' and I get playing the guitar. It's a challenge because it's not an easy instrument to play. There are so many interesting sounds you can make out of it and so many different elements. I dig it.
I play the piano, but I'm not classically trained.
I picked up the bass kind of postpunk-style. There's a real art to not learning how to play an instrument and being able to still play it.
What I try to impart to a musician is to really try to practice the instrument in a really sincere way. Learn as much about music as you possibly can. Learn composition. Study to try to create compositions of your own and put your own personal touch on your music.
Jazz is not a 'form' but a collection of tags and tricks.
There are two types of session guitar players. One reads and only plays what the 'dots' say. The other adds that something special and plays notes and solos you dream of. Big Jim Sullivan was such a player.
I've been playing the viola since I was 6 years old, and then I decided to switch it up a bit, so I've been playing the violin since I was 11. I started playing the piano when I was 11, and I started playing the guitar when I was 10.
I learned to read music when I was 10 and did piano and took lessons.
The ultimate guitar players can play every scale in the book.
I'm not very good at playing piano, so I usually hit chords with my right hand. And those chords came, and I was just singing a little bit.
While you're learning guitar, figure out the drums, too. Not only does it help you have great timing, but it helps you understand how a band works.
All the folks I play with come from jazz backgrounds or at least appreciate spontaneity within the parameters of a pop song.
When I picked up guitar, it wasn't like, 'OK, I'm going to be Kenny Chesney.' It was like, 'I want to play a chord,' and then it was like, 'I want to play another one, then play a song, then sing while playing the song.'
I started playing guitar because of instrumental guitar music.
The reality for me is simple. When music is written, it is usually categorized as classical. When it is improvised, it can still be called classical if it is an inspired improvisation. In either category, it is still music, and it can be good or bad or simply mediocre.
The piano is where everything starts and ends. Everything is based off of it. If you understand that, you wind up understanding a lot more in all other instruments. For me, it had always been something important to try and learn.
A friend of mine once told me that I can't screw up when I play my own music. I also take voice lessons, play other peoples' songs out of music books, and occasionally figure out how to play other people's music from records. This keeps my ears, fingers, and mind working.
